Man arrested for DUI after plowing into boulder

Wrecker drags car out of the front yard of a home near 346 N. Donlee Dr. in St. George, Utah, Aug. 10, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — St. George police officers arrested a 20-year-old man for driving under the influence Sunday morning after he plowed through two residential front yards causing an estimated $1,000 worth of damage on Donlee Drive in St. George.

Just before 9:30 a.m., a man was driving a 1998 maroon Mercury Sable, with a woman passenger, southbound on Donlee Drive when he said he blacked out, St. George Police Sgt. Spencer Holmes said, at which point he continued straight rather than curving with the road, crossed the oncoming lane of travel and plowed through two yards where the car came to a rest after smacking into a boulder.

Wrecker drags car out of the front yard of a home near 346 N. Donlee Dr. in St. George, Utah, Aug. 10, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News
Wrecker drags car out of the front yard of a home near 346 N. Donlee Dr. in St. George, Utah, Aug. 10, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News

Residents of one of the homes, Lu Fischer and her husband, were pulling into their garage off Donlee Drive at the same time when they heard a crash from the direction of their neighbor’s house.

“He went across the yard right here,” Fischer said pointing to the curb in front of her house where a mailbox lay on the ground. “I took off running toward the car and the driver jumped out.”

The car was steaming, said Fischer’s neighbor, John Sullivan, and the driver had pulled the woman from the passenger seat onto the ground under a bush, Fischer said. Sullivan’s wife grabbed some pruning clippers to cut the bush away from the woman’s head.

“The whole top of her head was bleeding. Her mouth was split open, teeth bleeding around the gums, but she was able to talk to me,” Fischer said. “She was crying and told me she had been drinking and was afraid she was going to jail. I said, ‘you’re not going to jail, you’re going to the hospital.'”

St. George Police, St. George Fire Department and Gold Cross responded to the scene and transported the woman, in stable condition, via ambulance to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George.

Wrecker drags car out of the front yard of a home near 346 N. Donlee Dr. in St. George, Utah, Aug. 10, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News
Wrecker drags car out of the front yard of a home near 346 N. Donlee Dr. in St. George, Utah, Aug. 10, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News

Both the driver and the passenger were found to be intoxicated and under the legal drinking age. The driver was arrested for driving under the influence and was transported by police car also to Dixie Regional for medical clearance. After receiving medical clearance, he will be booked into Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility for multiple charges. He did not have a driver’s license so his name could not be confirmed at that time, Holmes said.

The car had to be maneuvered from where it had smacked into the boulder and then was towed.

St. George Police were at another DUI stop close by at 700 N. Bluff St., at the time they got the call for this incident, where a man driving a silver Mazda 6, with his two kids and a 16-year-old girl, was also arrested for DUI, Holmes said.

“He gave an open container to the 16-year-old passenger and asked her to put it in her purse,” Holmes said. “We’ve had three alcohol-related stops this morning.”

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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  • Driver nods off, runs car into wall
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12 Comments

  • The Rest Of The Story August 10, 2014 at 1:46 pm

    A bad mistake but glad nobody was killed.

  • Koolaid August 10, 2014 at 2:42 pm

    Was he DUI from the Sunday morning church koolaid? Religious koolaid seriously impairs one’s mental capacity, the ability to think and causes hallucinations such as making them believe they see spiritual entities (ghosts) and that their bosoms are on fire (burning). Beware of the Church Koolaid!

  • BOBBER August 10, 2014 at 3:11 pm

    humm

  • Voice of Reason August 10, 2014 at 4:20 pm

    Yep, an honest mistake. Living with the thought of this for the rest of the drivers life will be punishment enough. No need to add criminal charges to it and make the situation worse. He’ll punish himself enough when he’s sober. At least he didn’t leave a baby in the car.

    • Seriously... August 10, 2014 at 8:47 pm

      Are you going to bring up the baby with every comment you make? Let that sweet baby rest in peace and leave her family to mourn without having to read your nonsense.

    • Honestly August 11, 2014 at 11:24 am

      Right at least they weren’t complete idiots leaving a small helpless child in their car. People make mistakes all the time like running their car through peoples yards, but you have to be completely retarded to leave a small helpless child in a hot car by “accident”.

  • Kristin Schwiermann August 10, 2014 at 5:34 pm

    Where was that party?

  • Ima Wright August 10, 2014 at 7:03 pm

    He wanted one on the ROCKS

  • early bird August 10, 2014 at 7:06 pm

    A wee bit early to be sippin’ on grandpa’s cough medicine.

  • BOBBER August 10, 2014 at 8:48 pm

    the should have been in sacrament meeting. shame on them

  • Steve August 12, 2014 at 6:09 am

    These idiots endanger all of our lives. But they don’t read news articles like this one. How do we get the message to these stupid people in the drug & alcohol culture that we will not put up with them wreaking havoc in our community?

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